SpongeBob has not really been sent to jail, he snuck into jail only to help Mrs. Puff escape from jail. In Life of Crime, SpongeBob was sent to jail for the first time but only for one second. He thought he stole a balloon, but it was really free balloon day. In Party Pooper Pants, he was sent to jail for not inviting the police. In No Free Rides, he was sent to jail because he got a drivers licence before he was 16. In Driven to Tears, he was sent to jail because he ripped Patrick's license because he was jealous of the boat Patrick was driving.

First, in Doing Time, paired with SpongeBob, snuck into jail in order to help Mrs. Puff escape from jail. In Life of Crime, he went to jail for the same reason as SpongeBob. In SpongeBob Meets the Strangler, Patrick was foolish enough to think he was the strangler, so he just turned himself in. Later, in Good Ol' Whatshisname, Patrick was seen in jail, though it was unknown how he got there. It was probably because he turned himself in at the end of the episode SpongeBob Meets the Strangler.

In Hall Monitor and Doing Time, Mrs. Puff was sent to jail because SpongeBob destroyed Bikini Bottom. In No Free Rides, she stole SpongeBob's new boatmobile and crashed it into a police car. In Ditchin', she is sent to jail for ditching jury duty. In Summer Job, Mrs. Puff was littering SpongeBob's note. Mrs. Puff was at Traffic school at Bikini Bottom Jail, where SpongeBob teaches Mrs. Puff.

He went to jail for stealing Mr. What Zit Tooya's wallet. But, as a matter of fact, he was happy to be in jail because he was away from SpongeBob, but he found out later that he was in the same room as Patrick. He went to jail in Professor Squidward for mimicking Squilliam .

As usual, he attempted to steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula but this is his first time seen in jail. In Goo Goo Gas, he is arrested because SpongeBob yelled for the police. However, he escaped before he can even arrive at the police car because the handcuffs are too big. In the SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, he gets arrested for framing Mr. Krabs for stealing King Neptune's crown.